"We were getting outrebounded in the first half, which I didn't like especially when you are holding a team to 28 percent shooting at halftime. We have to be dominating in the backboard. Instead of being up 17 at half, it is 30. I challenged the guys at halftime to dominate the backboard, and we did that. I liked the way we played offensively. We were aggressive. We played off our defense. I thought we took care of the ball against their press in the first half. We only had four turnovers in the first half. I don't know how many of our turnovers came late, but they came late when we had subs and they kept pressing for whatever reason. I will take it. We had a lot of good numbers tonight. We had 19 assists tonight, which means we are sharing the ball. Fifty percent shooting in the second half, but we have to get guys playing better right now. We are playing unselfish and starting to make strides as a group."

On if he has ever had a player shoot 11-of-11 from three...

"Wow. I don't think I have, not the way he is shooting right now. It is not a surprise. He is shooting that way in practice and he works on it. Guys who don't practice that way, aren't making shots, because they aren't locked in. Jordan Price has been."

"It is going to be a process. He can shoot the ball. It is not a surprise. He has to mature in his game and understand that he made those buckets for us early. He also had four or five 50-50 balls that we are going to see on tape, because the tape doesn't lie. He had about five in the first half where he had just as much, if not more, of an opportunity to get the ball, and he just stares at them. It is going to be a process with him. He is playing at a high level offensively. I just have to get him to do more things on this stat sheet."

On if he was surprised by Tennessee Tech pressing and calling a timeout late in the game...

"He might be trying to get his team better. I don't know his philosophy."

On if he told Jordan not to shoot after the technical foul...

"Nope. I told him to be smarter. Bad players do what he did. You are hot and now you bark at the other teams' coaches? That is what bad players do. Good players know how good they are and they let their game do the talking. That is my maturity deal. That is exactly what it is. That was a teaching moment for him."

On how much he thinks this team has gotten...

"A lot better. Chris Denson has a lot to do with that. He is one of those guys with swagger. He plays with a feeling that he is a good as anyone out there on the court and he wants to prove it. That feeling is contagious. Now other guys are playing off his confidence. We need that all the way around. I told the guys I saw a lot of emotion tonight. I saw a lot of togetherness. I saw that the last three games. It is easy to do that with you are up 15 or 20. What about when you are in a dogfight? What about when you are down 10 with three minutes to go? Are you still going to be that way? That is what I am trying to get into these guys."

"He has developed into that. He has worked on it in the summer. He has worked on it during his time out. The thing I have to get this team doing is off of Chris. I have to find a way to get Frankie (Sullivan) at the one to play better. He is getting opportunities. He just isn't knocking them down. These last three games, I can recall him missing 15 wide open threes. The shots he is getting is coming from Chris and some of our other guys. He has to be shooting 50-something percent. A lot of that has to do him playing an unnatural position. He is playing the point for the first time since high school. It is a transition, but a scorer is a scorer. He has to work his way out of it by getting extra shots in. That is how you get out of a slump."

On if he sees pieces going into place for a strong second half of the season...

"I think so. I knew that this team was going to be better later with all of the new guys we needed to contribute. With Chris (Denson) being absent, I knew we were going to be inconsistent. I needed these guys to get experience through the battle scars they got early. I knew we would be better in January than we would in late November and early December. I see this team advancing and taking steps and that's all we want to do is take steps."

"I still need more from Rob. Maybe I am expecting more from Rob, but I need a whole lot more from him than what he is giving us. We have to have a presence offensively and defensively. If you don't have that presence, your team is a fraud. We need more from Asauhn (Dixon-Tatum). Jordon (Grainger) gave us some good energy. He is a guy that is going to help us down the stretch because he just keeps getting better and better. I need to find a way to get him more minutes. We need more from our interior."

"I'm not really sure. I was just trying to facilitate to my other teammates. Some of my other teammates
had the hot hand, so I was trying to give them a chance to score."

On if he has ever made 11 consecutive threes...

"Probably in practice, but never in games."

On what he learned from getting a technical foul tonight...

"I just got a little bit too excited. They were also talking a little trash, so I got involved in it, but I know I
shouldn't have, and my coaches talked to me afterward. I'm going to do better."

On being on such a hot shooting streak as a freshman...

"It's a blessing. It's all my teammates though. My teammates are finding me, and I'm just letting it fly.
They keep telling me to shoot, so I am going to shoot."

On getting the whole team going at the same time...

"Somebody said I'm taking away from Frank. That's not the case at all. Everybody has their night. As
you see, JP made three in a row tonight. I do say we need to get those guys going, but everybody has
their nights, and we expect Frankie and Chubb to come out in SEC play."

"Yes, I do feel right at home. It all started during the practices while I was out going against our senior
guard Frankie (Sullivan) and guarding Josh (Wallace) and JP (Jordan Price). I never sat out a full practice.
Coach always wanted me to keep my legs fresh, so when I came back I was on top of everything. "

On his highlight dunk in the first half...

"I saw the dude coming chopping his feet trying to block it. I guess he thought I couldn't jump or
something. I was trying to get on Top 10 (Sports Center Top 10)."

On his dunks in the past...

"I've had a couple on somebody, but that's by far the nastiest dunk I've ever had."

More on his dunk tonight...

"The team even calls me the one-man fast break. I love fast breaks. I'm good at finishing at the rim, so
Coach Barbee says he wants to run especially when he sees me. Frankie (Sullivan), Allen (Payne), (Rob)
Chubb they get the look outs, I'm gone. Coach says I'm 90 percent a one-man fast break. I'm either
going to get fouled or I'm going to make the shot."

On shutting down Tennessee Tech's three-point shooting...

"They had three guards that shot like 40 percent from the three-point line, so we practiced at keeping
them off the three-point line. We did gamble a lot. When they were pump faking, we were jumping in
the air, but teammates held our backs, so we had to really guard the three-point line this game."

On becoming a go-to player...

"Yes, I say I will be. It comes from maturity. I couldn't have handled this role my freshman or
sophomore year. I know what I have to do, Frankie knows what he has to do, and with the help of the
freshmen I think we will be OK."

On getting the offense going since he came back...

"I think it is really important. I think we were just rushing shots. We were watching film on the
beginning of the season, and we were quick, bad shots. Nobody was being patient as you see now. We
kind of grind the clock out like at 15 we always run a ball screen for me, Frankie or Josh and just find an
open man. I see JP's man helping I hit JP for the three, and it keeps the offense flowing."

On the potential of this team...

"I was talking to KT (Harrell) who is playing next year, and we were just like we are going to be so sick
next year. The potential is like disgusting for next year. We are looking forward to it, but we also have
to focus on this year, too."

Tennessee Tech Head Coach Steve Payne

On tonight's game...

"I thought we got some good looks, but I also thought we took some bad shots. I thought we were
anxious to play a little bit. I don't think we played together like we have been playing or as tough and
hard as we have been.

"I thought Auburn played really hard defensively and took us out of some stuff offensively. We didn't
make a lot or execute real well, but a lot of that was their defense. I thought in the first half we
rebounded well, but they got timely rebounds. They got a three, got an offensive rebound and hit a
three. We gave up some points that we don't need to give up there, but I give them a lot of credit for it."